Fishing has been and continues to be a very popular great American sport and is participated in at all levels from the rank amateur to the skilled professional; by all age groups from the very youngest to the very oldest; and by all economic brackets from the very poor to the very wealthy. However, generally denied this pleasure has been the handicapped and, in particular, those suffering from crippling illnesses or accidents, such as paraplegics and, in particular, those suffering nerve and muscle disorders that affect the hands and the arms. The reason being that it is impossible to hold the rod and to manipulate the elements of the reel, even though such manipulation is relatively simple and requires in some cases relatively minimal skills and manual dexterity.
To participate in fishing, a relatively modest investment is all that is needed to be made to buy a rod and a reel with the appropriate tackle and bait. From this modest investment, many hours of pleasure, relaxation and challenge can be obtained by an individual without the need for skilled coaching and assistance from others. Handicapped people especially enjoy fishing, but those who suffer from crippling nervous disorders of the arms and hands are denied the pleasure and challenge because of the inability to hold the rod and to control the reel. The present invention is intended to overcome this problem and to make available to these people the pleasure and challenge of fishing.